About

I completed my Undergraduate degree and MSc Health Psychology at the University of Derby, then went on to a research associate post at the University of Nottingham. I took up my first lecturing post at DeMontfort University in Leicester in 2006, and then moved to a senior lecturer role at Staffordshire University in 2014. I completed my Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology at Staffordshire University in 2015 under the supervision of Rachel Povey. My Masters research explored parental experiences of caring for severely food allergic children. My doctoral research focussed on self-regulation in weight management. I used qualitative methodology to examine how people manage their eating and exercise behaviours. My systematic review explored how smartphone apps that employ self-regulatory strategies can be effective in supporting weight management. I used quantitative methodology to examine self-regulatory failure and how optimism and resilience relate to compensatory health beliefs. 

I am a member of the Sheffield Hallam University Health Psychology Research Group, and the Centre for Behavioural Science and Applied Psychology. I am a Chartered Psychologist in the UK and Europe, an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, a member of the Institute for Health Promotion and Education and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Teaching

I am currently working on a number of projects relating to self regulation and health behaviours including a funded project examining coping with severe food allergy, lay perceptions of antimicrobial resistance, and how food labelling may be used as an intervention to improve food choice.

MSc Health Psychology

MSc Psychology 

BSc Psychology programmes

Publications

Other activities

External examiner for the University of Bath MSc Health Psychology